TomTom Ticks Off Customers With Pricing Errors, Tries To Make Good

Angry TomTom customers have been writing to us all day today to complain that the GPS maker had canceled orders they placed last week on the company’s website.

E-mails sent by TomTom to customers explained that the orders were being canceled due to a pricing error. Most pricing errors we hear about involve a single item with incorrect discount info. The complaints coming in about TomTom represented an entire array of products.

So we asked TomTom what the heck happened. Here is the company’s explanation:

Despite our best efforts, pricing errors occasionally occur and we can confirm that on Feb. 2, 2012 incorrect prices were listed on TomTom.com in relation to our Valentine’s Day sale. As a result, we will cancel orders for the mispriced units and will refund any customers who have already been charged for their original orders.

We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our customers. The Valentine’s Day promotion will continue as planned through 2/20/2012 and we’re also offering affected customers an additional $20 off the promotional products (Via 1505, XL 350TM, XXL 540M WTE, GO LIVE Top Gear edition).

The $20 discount was not enough for a few upset readers, who believe that TomTom should honor the lower price.

As we’ve mentioned before, in spite of popular internet rumors to the contrary, pricing errors do not necessarily constitute bait-and-switch and sellers are generally not required to honor such mistakes.

That being said, honoring those errors can sometimes be a good public relations move, especially if it works to retain loyal customers who will pay full price for your product in the future.

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